


We're a Family

by Full_Moon_Lover



Series: 25 Days of Christmas [13]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Adopted Children, Adoption, Alternate Universe, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-14
Updated: 2016-12-14
Packaged: 2018-09-08 11:29:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8842990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Full_Moon_Lover/pseuds/Full_Moon_Lover
Summary: “I adopted a kid and you help me take care of them all the time since we’re neighbours, but you came over and got so involved in the kid’s life they think that we’re both parents instead of just me.”





	

**Author's Note:**

> Day 13! This is coming a little later than usual as I was in a plane with no wifi, going back home.

Dan couldn’t really explain how he had decided he was ready to have kids. If he decided to be truthful with himself, he could almost say that there had never been any particular point where he thought he would make a good father. Most of the time, it was actually the other way around, thinking that anyone unfortunate enough to have to call him dad would be ruined for life. 

Everything changed the second he met Lizzie. He had been volunteering at an orphanage for a couple of weeks and, even though he found all the kids adorable and enjoyed playing with them, no one really caught his attention in the way Lizzie did. 

She showed up on his fifth week of volunteering and Dan swore he could feel himself falling in love right away. Lizzie was just adorable. With her fiery red hair and freckles all over her face, she had him wrapped around her little finger from the very beginning and Dan couldn’t find it in himself to complain. It definitely helped that Lizzie seemed to get really attached to him quite quickly as well. 

That confused many of the volunteers at the orphanage. Lizzie seemed to be scared of everyone and hardly let anyone even talk to her but Dan never had a problem. She had actually been the one to approach him because he tended to like letting the kids get used to him first before doing that. 

Dan had asked about her past, wanting to learn more about why such a sweet girl was so reluctant to let people get close to her. Since he was only a volunteer at the orphanage and didn’t actually work there, he wasn’t allowed to know the full story over how Lizzie had ended up there. 

Louise, an actual worker at the orphanage who also happened to be good friends with Dan, secretly let him know that Lizzie had not had the best parents. All she had said on the subject was that she was lucky her parents had died and she ended up at the orphanage because it was better than the alternative. 

That had been more than enough for Dan to understand why Lizzie liked to keep people at a distance. She had experienced things that no three year old should ever have to experience. Dan swore to himself that he would do anything in his power to make sure the sweet girl was never hurt again and would grow up in a happy environment. 

A couple wanting to adopt almost ruined his plan. Dan could tell right away that Lizzie wasn't right for them. They were interested but it was clear that they were going about it the wrong way. Instead of giving Lizzie her space and wait until she was comfortable enough to approach them, they forced her to spend time with them and tried to get to know her without paying mind to what she must be feeling. 

Dan could tell that Lizzie wasn’t happy. She was excited at the idea of getting adopted and finally getting another family she could call her own but she didn’t look that excited over the idea of her new parents. He knew he had to do something but he just wasn’t sure what. 

His neighbour and best friend Phil ended up giving him the push in the right direction that he desperately needed. 

They were talking over dinner one day and Dan shared his concerns over the little three year old girl. He knew he sounded worried and Phil could obviously tell as well since he was looking at him with sympathy. “Dan, from what you’ve said about her, Lizzie sounds like an amazing little girl. You know she’s going to get adopted eventually, if not by this couple than by someone else. I don’t think there’s much you can do to change that unless you plan on adopting her yourself.” 

Dan’s head snapped up at that and he looked at Phil with a mix of emotions. On one hand, he wasn’t sure if his best friend was actually joking or not but, on the other hand, he couldn’t deny the idea intrigued him. 

He tried telling himself it was a horrible idea and he was not cut out to be a father but, once Dan got something into his head, it was difficult to forget about it. 

Dan thought about Lizzie and how much he loved her already. Then he thought about someone else adopting her and winced. No one knew that little girl better than him. The idea of adopting Lizzie himself was starting to sound better by the second but he knew that it wasn’t a choice he could make on his own. 

Phil might not live with him but he was pretty much at his apartment more than him and only left in the early hours of the morning to get some sleep in his own bed. Dan knew that adopting a child would change Phil’s life as well so they both had to agree this was something they wanted to happen. 

It’s not as if he expected Phil to help out if he did go through with such an important step. Dan was just scared that it might affect their relationship and he just couldn’t have that. It was bad enough that, for years, he had wanted more with Phil but knew he couldn’t have it. He refused to lose their friendship as well just because Lizzie made him feel like he was ready to become a father. 

“I want to adopt Lizzie”, he said and watched half in amusement and half in worry as Phil choked on the bite of pizza he was eating. He waited until Phil finally managed to get everything under control and then waited anxiously for what his best friend was going to say. 

“You want to what?” Phil finally managed to get out, looking at Dan in disbelief. “Dan, I wasn’t actually being serious! I understand that you love Lizzie and really care about her but you volunteer at an orphanage. If you start adopting every child you start caring about you’re going to end up with an orphanage of your own.”

Dan couldn’t deny that this wasn’t the reaction he had been hoping for. He knew that it was going to take his best friend a while to warm up to his decision but he hadn’t expected him to try and talk down the way Dan felt about Lizzie. 

He hadn’t decided he wanted to adopt her just because he happened to be fond of her. Being fond of all the kids at the orphanage didn’t make Dan want to adopt every single one of them. The relationship he shared with Lizzie was different. He was the only one she opened up to and Dan found himself staying up at night thinking about whether or not she was okay and getting enough sleep or instead experiencing nightmares and forcing herself to stay awake in order to escape her short past. 

“You don’t understand”, he snapped, and instantly regretted it when he saw the hurt look on Phil’s face. “I’m sorry. I know this seems really sudden and to you it probably sounds like complete madness but you’ve never met Lizzie. She’s an amazing girl and I just…I can’t bare to see her leave the orphanage knowing that she would end up forgetting me in a few months.” 

Phil seemed to be looking a little more sympathetic after hearing his explanation. “I don’t think it’s fair that you’re here thinking of adopting an actual child when you won’t even let me get a dog”, he finally said, shaking his head and Dan couldn’t help but feel relieved. The fact Phil was joking meant that he was actually considering this rather than just pass it off as another one of Dan’s crazy ideas. 

“Tell you what”, Phil finally said, knowing that Dan was actually being very serious about this. “I’ll come by the orphanage tomorrow so you can introduce me to Lizzie then we’ll go from there.” Dan couldn’t have been happier. Phil was actually giving this a chance and he had no doubt his best friend would end up as charmed by Lizzie as he had been. 

Seeing the thoughtful look on Phil’s face made him hesitant. Had his best friend already changed his mind? “What’s up Phil?”

Phil continued to look at him strangely until he finally decided to speak his mind. “You know that you didn’t even need to ask me about this right? I mean, we don’t actually live together and if you wanted to, you could have easily decided to go ahead and apply for Lizzie’s adoption without asking for my opinion. So…why did you?” 

Dan could feel himself turn bright red and tried to come up with a suitable reason that would not make his feelings for his best friend obvious. “You’re around at my place more than you’re at yours at this point and I knew this wouldn’t work if I didn’t have your support. I didn’t want my decision to ruin our friendship.” There. That was pretty close to the truth without making it painfully obvious that Dan was pretty much in love with Phil. 

Phil seemed to be satisfied with the answer and he looked at him with what Dan could only describe as appreciation. “Thanks for thinking about me. If this is something that you really want to do, I won’t stand in your way. I’d still really like to meet Lizzie though.” 

What Dan had thought ended up being right. Phil was just as endeared by Lizzie when he first met her as Dan had been. It helped that Lizzie seemed to understand Dan trusted Phil implicitly and so allowed him to hang out with them almost straight away. 

Dan and Phil spent the whole day playing with her and, by the end, Phil was absolutely gushing about her and telling Dan that if he didn’t apply to adopt her, he would step up and do it himself. Dan was almost tempted to tell Phil he told him so but he just couldn’t bring himself to do it when he saw the complete joy on his best friend’s face. 

He filed for Lizzie’s adoption the next day. 

* 

The adoption process was long and stressful. Dan knew he was at a disadvantage because he filed for adoption as a single parent and, by the end of it, he ended up losing count of how many times a social worker had visited his apartment to ‘make sure everything is ideal for raising up a child and asking him a few more questions'.

By the end, Dan was completely terrified that his request was going to be rejected. The only thing keeping him sane through those difficult times was Phil’s constant presence, reassuring him that he was doing fine and that there was no reason why social services would find him unfit to care for a child. 

“Seriously Dan, Lizzie absolutely adores you and anyone with eyes can see that. The social workers held interviews with Louise and I’m sure she said nothing but praise about you. Your salary is more than enough to live comfortably and take adequate care of Lizzie. There is nothing they could possibly find a problem about. I know this is stressful but you need to calm down and keep in mind that you’re doing everything you can.” It ended up becoming like some kind of catch phrase for Phil since he found himself repeating it more than once a day. 

After months of stress, worries and Dan being almost completely sure he was not going to get it, social services finally called and confirmed that he was now officially Lizzie’s father. He wasn’t too proud to admit that he had cried when he heard the news and Phil was right by his side, holding him close and congratulating on finally getting to bring Lizzie home. His baby girl was finally coming home.

*

Dan thought it would take both of them more time to get used to having a child running around Dan’s apartment. 

They went from playing video games whenever they felt like to watching episode after episode of Peppa Pig. Dan always denied it when asked but he had gotten to the point where he knew most of the episodes by heart and he was sure Phil wasn’t much different. 

Thinking of Phil made a giddy smile appear on his face. Dan had made it absolutely clear that this was his idea and he didn’t expect Phil to do anything to help but his best friend had obviously ignored him. They had gotten to the point where they divided their duties with Lizzie and spent equal times with her. 

Phil now spent even more time at his apartment and once, when Lizzie found herself having a bad night full of nightmares, he even ended up spending the night on the sofa so that Lizzie could have both of them close by whenever she needed comforting.

Dan found himself cutting the line at that. He appreciated how much Phil loved and cared about his little girl but he refused to let him spend the night on the uncomfortable couch in the living room whenever Lizzie was having a bad time. 

That’s how they started sharing Dan’s bed whenever Lizzie was having nightmares and Phil slowly started using his apartment even less. 

*

The first time Lizzie called him ‘daddy’ would forever be imprinted in Dan’s mind as one of the happiest days of his life. 

Him and Phil had decided to go for a walk in the park since it was such a nice day outside. It would give Lizzie a chance to play in the playground and interact with other kids her age. They settled down on one of the benches and just enjoyed some time together, making sure to keep a close eye on Lizzie at all times. 

They both wore proud smiles on their faces when Lizzie ended up befriending a small abandoned kitten that was hanging around near the playground. That’s when it happened. 

“Daddy look at this kitten! I named him Toby and he’s been playing with me for a long time. Please, can we keep him?” 

Dan could do nothing but stare at Lizzie in shock. Even though he had brought up the issue a few times and encouraged her to refer to him as such whenever she felt comfortable, he hadn’t actually expected it to happen so soon. 

Phil ended up having to take over for a few minutes while Dan tried, and mostly failed, to calm himself down. His little girl had actually called him daddy without him having to force it or insist. 

When Phil would ask him later, Dan would insist that he had always intended on getting Lizzie a pet and agreeing to keep Toby had absolutely nothing to do with her calling him dad. They both knew he was lying. 

 

Life was going well for their unusual little family. Lizzie was finally considered to have settled enough with Dan to not need to be visited by a social worker anymore and they were looking into the ideal school they would start sending her to in September. 

It was bedtime when it happened and Dan was sure that he could have not seen this coming. 

Dan was tucking his daughter into bed when Lizzie suddenly smiled widely at something behind him and he knew, before even turning around, that Phil was there. Lizzie absolutely adored Phil and she always refused to go to sleep before she got her kiss goodnight from him. Tonight was no different and she eagerly waited for him to walk over to her bed and join her dad. 

They both kissed her goodnight and got ready to leave when Lizzie interrupted. “Are you sleeping here tonight?” she asked, looking at Phil hopefully. Phil absolutely hated having to see her upset but he knew he couldn’t possibly keep on sleeping in Dan’s bed every night. He didn’t mind at all but he didn’t want to push his luck until his best friend was forced to just kick him out so he could finally get some privacy. 

“Not today sweetheart”, he settled on and had to watch as the smile on Lizzie’s face quickly turned into a frown. 

“I don’t get it. I thought parents were supposed to live together and sleep in the same bed but you live somewhere else and don’t always sleep with daddy. That makes no sense papa”, she said shaking her head. Lizzie was thankfully too young to realise just what her words meant and Dan and Phil were left to stare at her in disbelief. 

“Sweetie, we’ll talk about this in the morning. Get some sleep now.” Dan kissed her on the head one final time and then he then grabbed Phil’s hand and quickly pulled him outside of her room. “I’m so sorry”, he blurted, as soon as he was sure Lizzie would not be able to hear them. “I knew she absolutely adored you but I had no idea she was actually thinking of you as her other dad.” 

Phil wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do. He was desperate to tell Dan that he didn’t mind one bit and that hearing Lizzie call him papa had warmed his heart in a way nothing else had ever done. He wasn’t sure how Dan would take that though. How could he possibly explain that he had been in love with Dan for the past six years and that he wanted nothing more than to raise Lizzie with him, like an actual family?

He knew that the likelihood of Dan not freaking out over a declaration like that was slim so he ended up not saying anything of what he actually wanted to say. “It’s okay Dan. Seriously, don’t worry about it. You couldn’t have possibly have known.” 

His words seemed to do nothing to reassure Dan and, instead, he only looked more panicked. “Maybe we should spend some time away from each other”, he finally suggested, even though it killed him to see the crushed look on Phil’s face. “I know how much you care about Lizzie and I don’t want to cut you out of her life but I think I need some time to explain to her how things really are. Letting her think like that…it’s not fair on you or her.” 

Dan hadn’t expected Phil to start jumping up and down in joy at his proposal but he didn’t think he could ever get such a cold look from his best friend. “If that’s what you really want”, Phil said before walking out of his apartment and slamming the door behind him. 

Never before had Phil looked so angry at him and Dan found himself dealing with the unknown. He must have really messed up if Phil just left like that but what else could he have done? Hearing his daughter call Phil papa had only reminded of just how much he loved his best friend and how he wished they really were raising Lizzie together as her parents but Dan needed to think of his daughter as his first priority. Regardless of what his feelings for Phil were, he needed to think about how everything would affect Lizzie. 

 

It had been a week since their argument, if it could even be considered as such, and Dan still hadn’t heard from Phil. He couldn’t even remember the last time they had gone so long without talking to each other and Dan knew his apartment wasn’t the same without Phil hanging around for most the time. 

“Did you and papa fight?” Lizzie asked, tears in her eyes. 

Regardless of how much Dan tried to explain the situation in a way a three year old could understand, he had failed to convince Lizzie to stop calling Phil papa. After the fourth day, he had just stopped trying. He knew that at this point it was useless and could only hope his daughter would grow out of the habit soon. 

At the moment, Lizzie seemed to be thinking that her parents had gotten into a big fight and Dan couldn’t really blame her. Ever since he had adopted her, there hadn’t been a day where Phil didn’t visit her and spent some time playing with her. All that changed in the blink of an eye and, suddenly, she was no longer seeing Phil everyday. 

Dan hated the situation he had found himself in. He didn’t like watching his daughter cry for Phil to wish her goodnight in the evening and he knew his daughter was slowly starting to blame him for the disappearance of Phil but there wasn’t much Dan could do. After all, he had been the one to tell Phil to stay away for some time. He couldn’t go around complaining now that he had gotten exactly what he asked for. 

He missed Phil. Life with him and Lizzie had become such a natural thing for them and Phil had always been so willing to help him out whenever he needed that now Dan was finding himself at his wit’s end. He needed to find a babysitter for Lizzie because Phil wasn’t around to take her of her while Dan was away for work. He needed to learn how to make a few basic children’s dishes because Phil had always taken care of cooking for Lizzie and Dan found himself unable to recreate those same foods she loved so much. 

Dan was at a complete loss and he only had himself to blame for pushing Phil away instead of discussing their situation like the mature adults they were. He wished he could go knocking on Phil’s door and apologise but he had always been quite a prideful person and the idea of admitting he was wrong was rubbing him off in a bad way. 

*

Two weeks after Phil’s disappearance from their lives, Dan ended up having to rush Lizzie to the hospital because of a severe asthma attack. The doctors and nurses were amazing and they quickly nursed her back to health. They made sure to reassure Dan that his daughter was in no danger and all she needed was to be given a number of puffs a day. 

Unfortunately, the damage had been done. Dan was completely freaking out and couldn’t calm himself down enough to walk into his daughter’s room and sit by her bedside to wait for her to wake up. 

He felt like a failure of a parent and, finally admitting defeat, he dialled the number he had known by heart for the past six years. He half expected Phil not to answer after the way things had ended between them but he picked up after the first two rings. “Dan?” he heard a sleepy voice ask through the phone. 

Dan wanted to slam his head against the wall when he remembered it was past midnight and Phil had probably been asleep. “H-Hey Phil”, he said, almost cursing when he heard his voice break. The last thing he wanted to do was to give Phil the impression he was weak. Too bad he had never been able to hide anything from Phil and he noticed straight away that something was wrong. 

“Dan? What’s the matter, are you okay? Is Lizzie okay?” Phil sounded like he wasn’t done asking questions so Dan answered before he could get himself into more of a panic. He was already regretting calling Phil and worrying him after he had been the one to ask him to stay away for a few days. 

“I’m fine. I had to take Lizzie to the hospital because she had a really bad asthma attack but she’s better now”, he explained, already feeling himself calm down over hearing Phil’s voice. “I know I shouldn’t have called after what I said to you but I was freaking out and thinking about how I’m a horrible parent and I did the first thing that came to mind. I’ll go now”, he started to say but Phil didn’t give him a chance to finish. 

“Let me find my keys and I’ll be there as soon as I can. Try not to leave Lizzie in a room by herself until I get there. There should be someone she knows to talk to her once she wakes up.” 

Dan could feel himself tear up when he heard the care in Phil’s voice when talking about his daughter. The daughter he had tried to keep him from. What the hell had Dan been thinking? He had gone from raising Lizzie with Phil’s constant help to expecting to take on everything himself all of a sudden. It was never going to work. 

He did as Phil said and walked into his daughter’s room. He smiled when he saw her sleeping peacefully and sat down next to her bed. “Don’t worry sweetie, Phil will be here soon”, he whispered as he ran a hand through her hair, knowing just how happy his daughter was going to be when she woke up and saw Phil there. 

True to his word, Phil was there in less than fifteen minutes, out of breath and looking more worried than Dan had ever seen him. He seemed to calm down once he caught sight of a sleeping Lizzie and he quickly walked over to Dan, sitting down next him. 

“She’s okay right?” he asked, wanting to make sure and Dan quickly nodded. 

“She’s fine, I just need to start giving her puffs everyday for her asthma but the worse is over. I’m sorry I made you come all the way here just because I was feeling like a bad father. You didn’t have to.” 

Dan immediately regretted saying that when he noticed Phil’s face close off once again. “I didn’t do it for you”, he said, and Dan couldn’t hold back a flinch. “I was worried about Lizzie and wanted to make sure that she’s really okay. Now that I’ve confirmed that, I’ll get out of your hair. I never meant to go against your wishes by showing up here.” 

It was time they finally talked and Dan couldn’t keep running away, not if it meant he was going to lose Phil in the process. “I want Lizzie to see you as her papa”, he admitted, stopping Phil in his tracks. He turned to look at him in bewilderment and Dan knew he was going to have to explain himself better.

“I can’t do this without you Phil. I can’t raise Lizzie on my own without your help. You take care of her just as much as me and it’s not fair I get to be called daddy but you don’t”, he explained even though he knew he probably was not making much sense. “Don’t you get it? I want a family with you. For the past six years I’ve been hopelessly in love with you and lately we were acting exactly like a family would. Hearing Lizzie call you papa only reminded me of what I couldn’t have. I’m sorry, I should have never asked you to leave her life instead of trying to explain the situation to her together just because I was scared of getting hurt.” 

Dan had thought up of many different scenarios that could because by his confession. Sometimes he imagined Phil would leave in a hurry and admit he had never really cared about Lizzie in the first place. Other times he imagined Phil sticking around for Lizzie’s sake but never looking at him in the same way again. 

What Dan had never imagined was for Phil to stare at him open mouthed, only to then pull him in for a hungry kiss that spoke of hidden feelings and years of pining. Dan kissed him back just as passionately, hardly able to believe Phil was actually kissing him. 

Phil was the first one to pull away, looking at him fondly. “I love you too, just in case you didn’t gather that from our kiss. I’ve loved you from the moment I met you trying to carry all your furniture into your apartment by yourself. You have no idea how much I want to be Lizzie’s papa and how it made me feel to hear her call me that. I didn’t say anything because I thought you would find me weird and kick me out of your lives. I’m sorry, I should have said something.”

Dan could hardly believe how stupid they had both been. If only they had talked things through straight away, then maybe they wouldn’t be here right now. Then again, Dan couldn’t really complain about his life when Phil was pulling him in for another kiss and mumbling against his lips about how much he loved him and wanted a family with him and Lizzie. 

“Does that mean I can call you daddy and papa?” a voice from their side interrupted their kiss and they pulled away from each other to face a wide awake Lizzie, looking at them as if Christmas had come early. 

Dan knew that they still had a lot to talk about and there were very important things they needed to discuss but, right now, he was more than content watching the man he loved interacting with his daughter and loving her like his own. 

“Yes, Lizzie. You can call us daddy and papa.”

**Author's Note:**

> Did you enjoy day 13? Let me know in the comments!
> 
> Stay tuned for day 14 tomorrow!


End file.
